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London 2012 Olympic Cauldron...


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Hey, does anyone think this is the REAL reason for hiding Betty indoors, alone? Maybe to drum up revenue via the Orbit as a viewpoint of the flame, without actually admiting it? These decision makers cannot be that short-sighted, me thinks there was a hidden agenda to actively hide the cauldron!

(I wonder if it can still be seen at its new position from the Orbit, anyone?) Also, what a waste of flames burning 24/7 alone!!! How about they took their own advice and took advantage of the digital technology we have now to stream a live feed of the flame for free??? Lord Coe has changed, he is too arrogant now:-(

From the view that shows the roof of the stadium, the flame is also projected onto the screen, but why, we were not sure. We only noticed this later on photos not when we were actually at the event.

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...now as for Lord Coe!!!

How can he say this is not a tourist attraction. The Olympics are in themselves a tourist attraction. An event or location that attracts visitors!

If he does't think it is a tourist attraction why are they selling thousands of souvenirs in shops all over London and the Olympic venues. What a load of nonsense.

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Amazing pictures; thanks. It appears that if you went back today, you wouldn't have been able to see the flame from the top of the Orbit. Shame!

WHAT??? okay there's definitely some bizarre reason for this decision that only the 'upper-class' know about...Maybe they did not want free-loaders outside the olympic park??? Or they wanted to make sure that the only activity available outside was this Orbit trip???

I can see the stadium from my house and I cant tell you how disappointed me and the kids were after waiting to see the flame from home, IT IS SAD FOR THE LOCAL CITIZENS WHO HAVE FUNDED AND CONTINUE TO FUND AND SUPPORT THIS EVENT, we are not tourists Sebastian....oh Lord Coe :P

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I can't find my previous post on it--but I was right again!! I mused that the cauldron was crafted in Harrogate, the same city where they secretly tested the Cycladic head effect of 2004! And so it was!!

So the city where Agatha Christie could not place 10 days of her life, has another claim to fame: secret, testing ground for great Olympic ceremonial effects!

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Wow, that media seating section in the stadium is huge. If the stadium normally sits 80,000, then what is the current seating capacity with the media stands?

I think they said 60,000 during the opening ceremony. So probably a bit more during Athletics.

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Wow, that media seating section in the stadium is huge. If the stadium normally sits 80,000, then what is the current seating capacity with the media stands?

Well, that section looks like 1/8th of the stadium, so 80,000 div by 8 = 10,000 maybe...but filled by at least 1,500 journalists there. So a full T&F stadium might seat around an est. 71,500.

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They should've done the douse and relight of the flame a little more formally...Still at least it is now where it should be. (I still laugh at the 1976 Bic relight!)

It's sad that controversy of this most potent symbol of the Olympic Games (since 1936 anyway-thank you Hitler) has really hurt what was suppose to be the premium sports event.

The Cauldron is truly magical...It's just a shame LOCOG has mis-read the global feelings about the flame, and Sebastion Coe's uttlerly offensive comments simply reminds me of typical Class Society attitude that still reeks in the UK!

Seb Coe is quickly turning from Seb Coe - Olympic Bid Hero back to Seb Coe - Conservative Poltiician with some of his actions lately. For me it comes down to his arrogance over athletics - hence athletics get the flame and no other sport does.

My son and myself have enjoyed reading the speculation about the cauldron and just wanted to add our humble, newbie opinion to this thread.

We visited the Olympic Park yesterday as we had grabbed some last minute tickets for the basketball and a trip up the Orbit.

For us, it was the only thing that didn't feel right about the park. Not being able to see the iconic flame from around the park was a the only let-down for our short trip. We did manage to catch a view of it from the top of the Orbit.

From the view that shows the roof of the stadium, the flame is also projected onto the screen, but why, we were not sure. We only noticed this later on photos not when we were actually at the event.

...now as for Lord Coe!!!

How can he say this is not a tourist attraction. The Olympics are in themselves a tourist attraction. An event or location that attracts visitors!

If he does't think it is a tourist attraction why are they selling thousands of souvenirs in shops all over London and the Olympic venues. What a load of nonsense.

And can anybody tell me when it was ever "green" to burn thousands of pounds worth of gas, when nobody can even get any benefit from the flame. Typical environmental hogwash!!!

We spoke to several members of staff about the flame and they all said that lots of people had been asking why it could not be seen.

The screen excuse just does not wash - indeed if anything that great angle of the flame from underneath they're using kind of makes me wish it had been positioned so people could walk under it. For me though the cauldron is the major downer so far these games - at the very least it should have been lit in it's final resting place, and really considering they're telling us how lightweight it is I'm sure that some how it could have rested on the rim of the stadium roof. After all they installed all the necessary rigging to enable the various aerial elements of the Opening Ceremony, so I'm sure something would have been possible.

I also have to question whether the Orbit tower played any role in the decision as that seems to have been designated as the focal point of Olympic Park.

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It's the 5 rings. And there are enuf of those giant ones around London for photo opps. And people will have nuf shots of them in the various venues to show their grandchildren or whenever London IV will come around.

baron-pierrel, ive read your book which I enjoyed a lot! thanks. I completely agree with you that people are blowing this whole cauldron thing out of preportion! It is a beautiful cauldron, beautifully lit, with incredible music and technical genious. OK its not ideal that it cant be currently seen and not perfect that it had to be put out and re-lit. But lets face it, fire is fire lol. As long as it comes from the original flame, who cares!!

Having read your book, you suprise me with your opinion on the London cauldron! I love it, but I would have thought you would be more picky!

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baron-pierrel, ive read your book which I enjoyed a lot! thanks. I completely agree with you that people are blowing this whole cauldron thing out of preportion! It is a beautiful cauldron, beautifully lit, with incredible music and technical genious. OK its not ideal that it cant be currently seen and not perfect that it had to be put out and re-lit. But lets face it, fire is fire lol. As long as it comes from the original flame, who cares!!

Having read your book, you suprise me with your opinion on the London cauldron! I love it, but I would have thought you would be more picky!

Thank u very much, pjpauly2k. Your very kind words made my day. Am so glad you enjoyed it much.

I really can't quibble much about the London cauldron. It was very unique -- and in the lighting manner, both mesmerizing and oddly a little cold at the same time. I tried not to have too many preconceived notions about it, and the fact that I at least guessed correctly about where it was initially coming out of, was satisfaction enough. And I don't really have a vested interest in these Games to shed any more sweat and tears that other posters here are shedding over it. Plus, I sort of get, and agree with, the unspoken vibe of both LOCOG and the IOC that it was a 'moment' thing and the fact that it will be dismantled in a good way after the Games, is hard to argue with. Even as an energy-producing nation, at least the UK seems to have taken a very under-the-radar approach this time vs. the humongous, showy cauldrons of the past. Although with 204 little pipes, I really wonder how much of a smaller carbon imprint it makes vs. a bigger, showier version which many people seem to be clamoring for...or at least missing from the good old days. .

Maybe less is actually "more," this time? What do you think?

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The Cauldron is now located where the giant Olympic Bell stood for the Opening Ceremony

Olympic_Cauldron_in_the_Stadium_30-07-12.jpg

http://insidethegame...ics-competition

The picture clearly shows that they'll have to move the cauldron back to the centre of the infield for the closing ceremony - because the space there in that gateway is so confined that they can't "unfold" the cauldron there. That will have to happen on the night from August 11 to August 12 (closing day), because they still need an empty infield for the men's javelin competition on August 11. So some people here will have another heart attack regarding a (premature) extinguishing and relighting of the cauldron. ;)

Speaking of purism: I doubt that the flame burning now in the cauldron is the original Olympic Flame - at least not the pure original flame. The original flame touched only seven of the 204 petals, since it came from the torches of the seven young athletes. The other petals were lit automatically. And I think that it would be a big coincidence if they chose one of the seven petals with the original flame for lighting the lantern for the relocating of the cauldron. But this is of course very pedantic. The original flame must have mixed at least with the automatic lit flames when they turned the gas up on Friday night.

On another note, I was at least right in predicting before the opening ceremony that the cauldron would sit in the middle of one of the stadium's gates during the Games - where it won't block the spectators' view and also won't get too near to the running track (since there isn't much space left between the stands and the track in that very intimate stadium).

And since it was also mentioned: It was absolutely clear beforehand that they would have to move the Olympic Flag after the opening ceremony, because it was hoisted on the Tor -- which had to be removed. But that is really not the first time they have moved it. I seem to remember that the Olympic Flag in Athens was hoisted on one end of the stadium and then flew on the opposite end of the stadium during the rest of the Games.

P.S. It's remarkable how quickly all that ceremonial set has vanished in the stadium and that the athletics track can already be seen. One would almost not guess that an opening ceremony took place there just three days ago. ;)

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Maybe less is actually "more," this time? What do you think?

Ha ha, ive said this since I saw the Beijing ceremony. I mean how far can we really take it!

My final word on the ceremony and the cauldron will be that, in my opinion, Underworld were the best decision made for this ceremony. The music for the whole ceremony was fanastic, not just the pop stuff but also the instrumental parts! Well done them.

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The picture clearly shows that they'll have to move the cauldron back to the centre of the infield for the closing ceremony - because the space there in that gateway is so confined that they can't "unfold" the cauldron there. That will have to happen on the night from August 11 to August 12 (closing day), because they still need an empty infield for the men's javelin competition on August 11. So some people here will have another heart attack regarding a (premature) extinguishing and relighting of the cauldron. ;)

They may not necessarily have to return the cauldron to the field on Closing Night. After all, the only movement needed from it is to 'die out.' So that can be done in its present location. If anything, I don't think they want to draw any more attention to the 'journeys' of this cauldron. ;) Besides, what would the point of repeating the open-close-open motion of the device, be? And then that spot where it's sitting would also have to be filled with something else.

P.S. It's remarkable how quickly all that ceremonial set has vanished in the stadium and that the athletics track can already be seen. One would almost not guess that an opening ceremony took place there just three days ago. ;)

I noticed that too. Gosh, the over-time wages they paid the tear-down crew and the new-turf layers must've been pretty high.

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They may not necessarily have to return the cauldron to the field on Closing Night. After all, the only movement needed from it is to 'die out.' So that can be done in its present location. If anything, I don't think they want to draw any more attention to the 'journeys' of this cauldron. ;) Besides, what would the point of repeating the open-close-open motion of the device, be? And then that spot where it's sitting would also have to be filled with something else.

The cauldron will be opened up:

"At the end of the Games this cauldron will dismantle itself and radiate back down to the ground and each of those copper pieces taken away by each nation and put in a national Olympic cabinet somewhere," Heatherwick said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/olympic-cauldron-to-be-broken-up-and-given-to-nations/story-fn9dheyx-1226437703174

And that's only logical, since it brings the whole cauldron story full circle back to how it was lit. Just like when Vancouver's indoor cauldron that had risen (at least mostly ;)) from the ground at the opening ceremony was retracted back into the ground at the closing ceremony.

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I find this decision very sad. It shows just how little forethought went into the planning of the stadium that the archtects were so concerned with allowing the top section of the stadium to be dismantled, they didn't even consider how this would effectively prevent a permenant resting space for the couldron visible to all outside. And Lord Coe's comments are very disheartneing although unfortunately typical of the British political elite. I was reading comments from a French viewer on TF1's website who basically said why even bother bidding for the games if you're not going to honour the Olympic conventions. As a British citizen, I was dismayed to find myself agreeing with him.

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Why didn't they place it at the other end of the stadium where the Tor was? Is there no gap there between the stands?

The flame always looks nice behind the Athletics starting line, but you won't be able to see it where it is now. And on top of being rather small already, it's diminished a bit by being so close to the elevated media platform to its left in that picture. Oh well, London.

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Why didn't they place it at the other end of the stadium where the Tor was? Is there no gap there between the stands?

The jumbotrons are where the gap between the upper and the lower stands is. So they couldn't put the cauldron there because it would have blocked the view onto the jumbotrons. And as you can see in the picture above, there's also no gate at that end of the stadium where they could have placed it.

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With all this polemic surrounding the cauldron location, I have no doubts Rio is going to think very carefuly about their cauldron in 4 years. That is, unless they want to follow London's trend.

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With all this polemic surrounding the cauldron location, I have no doubts Rio is going to think very carefuly about their cauldron in 4 years. That is, unless they want to follow London's trend.

I think all depends on what they are planning for the new Maracana Stadium roof they a building at this very moment.

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It's almost life they're TRYING to hide the flame. The fact that it's now no longer visible from the Orbit thanks to its new position just adds insult to injury.

I also dont understand people making a financial excuse. LOCOG found an answer for the stadium wrap. Although the wrap did improve the look of the stadium, in the grand scheme of things it would've been smarter to earmark the funds for a visible cauldron. If it was an either/or decision, it should've been the cauldron.

I really think this cauldron was a terrible mistake and I think it's going to leave a lasting scar on people's memory of the London Games -- not least because of the transparent double-speak and elitist justifications of a lousy decision.

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I also have to question whether the Orbit tower played any role in the decision as that seems to have been designated as the focal point of Olympic Park.

EXACTLY!!! The flame would have overshadowed the Orbit as a "tourist attraction", which as they say on their website, "is London’s major new visitor destination – both during the Games and beyond." So the decision was to kill the flame and promote the orbit, without actually admitting it!

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EXACTLY!!! The flame would have overshadowed the Orbit as a "tourist attraction", which as they say on their website, "is London’s major new visitor destination – both during the Games and beyond." So the decision was to kill the flame and promote the orbit, without actually admitting it!

If that's true (we really can't know)-- it's criminal.

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EXACTLY!!! The flame would have overshadowed the Orbit as a "tourist attraction", which as they say on their website, "is London’s major new visitor destination – both during the Games and beyond." So the decision was to kill the flame and promote the orbit, without actually admitting it!

Yet if they had also built the Orbit to double as a secondary permanent cauldron, it would be even more of a "tourist attraction!"

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